What's Up

     While he waited for the fifteen minutes to pass, Mike
squirmed, twisted and swore he could feel his blood pressure
going up. "Why do I let Hardstone do this to me? Why do I let
Hardstone let me do this to myself?" he muttered, attempting
to relax.

     The fifteen minutes seemed like an hour. Mike stopped at
the restroom, checked himself in the mirror and walked into
Hardstone's office.

     "Mike, thank you for coming by," Hardstone said, taking
another puff on a large cigar that he always seemed to have
with him. "I try to do unpleasant things first thing in the
morning. Then, the rest of my day can be better. I don't like
the tension of looking forward to unpleasant duties. As
president of this company, I am responsible for unpleasant
duties. Unpleasant duties are in my job description. I don't
assign them to other people in the company. Mike, let me get
to the point -- I hear that you live with another man. Are you
gay? Queer? Before you answer, let me tell you something. I
don't like homosexuals. And I don't want them working here. If
you're that way, I hope you'll submit a letter of resignation
by the end of the week and find your career someplace else."

     Mike opened his mouth to speak.

     "Mike, you don't have to say anything. Thank you for
stopping by. Let's be in touch," with that Hardstone stood,
opened the door to his office and signaled that Mike was to
leave.

     Mike hurried back to his own office and dialed Dan's number
on the telephone.

[Mike has a variety of options. First, he can deny that he's
gay. Second, he can move out of the house he shares with Dan.
Third, he can have integrity and tell Hardstone that he is
gay and lives with another man. What will he do? Find out in
the next exciting chapter of Tales of Akron.]